Foot Facts

Did you know?

• The foot accounts for 25% of the bones in the human body.

• Each foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles.

• Each time your heel lifts off the ground when walking, it forces the toes to carry one half of your body weight.

• In a pair of feet, there are 250,000 sweat glands.

• It’s rare that two feet are exactly the same; one of them is often larger than the other, when buying shoes, buy for the larger foot.

• Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It contributes to your general health by improving circulation and weight control.

• Its neglect and a lack of awareness of proper care - including ill-fitting shoes - that bring on foot problems.

• Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. High heels are partly to blame.

• 9 out of 10 women wear shoes that are too small for them.

• Walking barefoot can cause plantar warts. The virus enters through a cut.

• The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which adds up to about 115,000 miles over a lifetime. That's enough to go around the earth four times.

• Fingernails and toenails grow faster during the summer, pregnancy and teenage years.

• The ancient Romans were the first to construct distinct left and right shoes. Before that, shoes could be worn on either foot.